West Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas has said that the state government has ordered an investigation into the mismanagement around Lionel Messi’s GOAT India Tour event on Saturday, December 14, in Kolkata, adding that he would not pass any comments on the same.
Chaos erupted at the Salt Lake Stadium as spectators resorted to vandalism after not being able to catch a glimpse of Messi, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of views by VIPs.
Police arrested the event’s prime organiser, Satadru Datta, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the formation of a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the incident.
“The government has ordered to investigation into this matter. An investigation is going on and I
will not comment on anything,” Biswas said.
Meanwhile, Messi is expected to attend a Padel GOAT Cup event at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai on Sunday, December 14, before featuring at a celebrity football game. He is then scheduled to head to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour’s main event around 5 pm.
Anticipating large crowds during Messi’s visit, the Mumbai police have deployed over 2,000 personnel in and around both venues, an official has said.
“The All India Football Federation is deeply concerned by the events that transpired at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, where thousands of fans gathered to witness world football stars Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Rodrigo de Paul,” the federation said in a statement.
“This was a private event organised by a PR agency. The AIFF was not involved in the organisation, planning, or execution of this event in any capacity,” the statement added.
Citing the Mumbai police’s experience in managing security during the ICC World Cup victory parade and the World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium, events that drew crowds of over one lakh, the official said that the force is well prepared to handle a large turnout of fans.
